Crater
National Park Lodge

Crater Lake Lodge was built to encourage tourism to Crater Lake National
Park and southwestern Oregon. It opened to guests during the summer of 1915.
Its clientele has included people from all over the world. Most guests have
had fond remembrances of their stays, even though the lodge was often in an
unfinished state. Throughout its history the lodge lacked expected hotel
standards for comfort, privacy, and service, and suffered from neglect.

In the spring of 1989, just before the lodge was to open for the summer
season, the engineers advised the park that the Great Hall wing was unsafe
for occupants. They predicted this part of the building might collapse of
its own weight, bringing down the rest of the lodge with it. This compelled
the National Park Service to keep the lodge closed and begin a comprehensive
rehabilitation project.

On May 20, 1995, Crater Lake Lodge reopened to the public. Patrons and
visitors could again enjoy its accommodations and services safely, and in an
atmosphere reminiscent of the 1920s. For the first time since its original
opening eighty years before, Crater Lake Lodge was a project finally
completed.

Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park is a United States National Park
located in southern Oregon, whose primary feature is Crater
Lake. This National Park was established on May 22, 1902,
and it is the sixth oldest National Park in the U.S. This
park encompasses the Crater Lake caldera, which rests in the
remains of a destroyed volcano (eventually named Mount
Mazama) and the surrounding forestland and hills. This is
the only National Park in Oregon.

The lake is 1,949 feet deep at its deepest point, which
makes it the deepest lake in the United States, the second
deepest in North America and the ninth deepest in the world.
However, when comparing its average depth of 1,148 feet to the average depth of other deep lakes, Crater Lake
becomes the deepest in the Western Hemisphere and the third
deepest in the world. The impressive average depth of this
volcanic lake is due to the nearly symmetrical 4,000-foot deep caldera formed 7,700 years ago during the
violent climactic eruptions and subsequent collapse of Mt. Mazama and the relatively moist climate that is typical of
the crest of the Cascade Mountains.

The caldera rim ranges in elevation from 7,000 to 8,000
feet. The United States Geological Survey benchmarked
elevation of the lake surface itself is 6,178 feet. This
National Park covers 286 square miles. Crater Lake has no
streams flowing into or out of it. All water that enters the
lake is eventually lost from evaporation or subsurface
seepage. The lake's water commonly has a striking blue hue,
and the lake is re-filled entirely from direct precipitation
in the form of snow and rain.

Crater Lake Activies
There are many hiking trails inside the park, and several
campgrounds. Unlicensed fishing is allowed without any
limitation of size, species, or number. The lake is believed
to have no indigenous fish, but several species of fish were
introduced beginning in 1888 until all fish stocking ended
in 1941. Kokanee Salmon and Rainbow Trou now thrive and
reproduce here naturally. Swimming is allowed in the lake,
and the boat tours, which stop at Wizard Island a cinder
cone inside the lake, operate daily during the summer. All
lake access for people is from Cleetwood Trail, a steep
walking trail, and there are no roads for cars, trucks, or
wagons that lead to the waterfront. All of the boats in the
lake were delivered by helicopter.

Numerous observation points along the caldera rim for the
lake are readily accessible by automobile via the "Rim
Drive", which is 33 miles long and has an elevation gain of
3,800 feet.

The highest point in Crater Lake National Park is Mt. Scott
at 8,929 feet. Getting there requires a fairly steep
2.5-mile hike from the Rim Drive trailhead. On a clear day
visibility from the summit exceeds 100 miles, and one can,
in a single view, take in the entire caldera. Also visible
from this point are the white-peaked Cascade Range volcanoes
to the north, the Columbia River Plateau to the east, and
also the Western Cascades and the more-distant Klamath
Mountains to the west.

The scenery of Crater Lake is fully accessible during the
summer months. Heavy snowfalls in this park during the fall,
winter, and spring months force many road and trail
closures, including the popular "Rim Drive", which is
generally completely open from July to October, and
partially open in some other months, such as May, June, and
November.